On the other side, Marvin picked up the phone quickly and said in a deep voice, “Credence, I’ve just arrived at your company. We’ll talk after we meet.”
After that, Jonathan followed Marvin to the president’s office on the top floor.
He had changed up his usual style and looked very much like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi. He wore a cap, a pair of sunglasses, and also an exaggerated black scarf around his neck that covered his entire face. He had covered himself up so completely that not even a breeze could penetrate through his outfit.
If it weren’t for the bad timing, Benjamin would have laughed out loud.
D*mn, Mr. Stanton was acting up again!
He must have planned to make him die of laughter just so he can steal his inheritance.
The president’s room was filled with smoke when they reached. Jonathan fanned away the smoke and hurriedly took off his sunglasses, scarf, and cap. He rushed towards Credence and shouted in agitation, “Credence, more and more people are gathering at the entrance now. Even the people on the Internet are calling you a selfish profiteer. F*ck, I can’t believe you’re still in the mood to smoke at a time like this. Are you trying to kill me?”
“What are you so worried about? Calm down.”
The man had his eyes closed as he leisurely took one last puff before he threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray. Credence turned his head to look at Jonathan with a cold glare and asked, “Does she know about what’s happening?”
Jonathan shook his head, “Who? Your woman? I don’t know if she knows or not. But I didn’t tell her anything, that’s for sure.
However, the news has already spread on the Internet. She’ll definitely find out about your situation as soon as she searches online.
Besides, Dorothy may repeatedly make mistakes when it comes to you, but she’s pretty smart about everything else.”
After that, Jonathan instinctively took a step back and successfully avoided Credence’s kick.
“Credence, I can’t believe she agreed to be your woman again. I suppose the candlelight dinner and roses were quite effective.” Marvin let out a snicker and began to tease him, which was a rare sight.
Benjamin hurriedly interjected with a face filled with anxiety, “Mr. Scott, Mr. Jules, Mr. Stanton, can we please turn the attention to the five lives that were lost?”
Marvin kept silent for a few seconds. Then he put away his cigarette before asking Credence, “What’s the situation now?”
Credence frowned. His gaze turned cold as he said, “The company’s head of security is monitoring the situation downstairs. He just called me and explained that the family members of the deceased want me to compensate them with money and apologize to them on my knees.”
When Jonathan heard this, he spat out the cigarette in his mouth and shouted angrily, “Who the f*ck is bold enough to ask a big shot like you to kneel in front of them and apologize? Like that’s ever going to happen!”
Credence looked at him with dark eyes and said, “If I don’t apologize, they’re demanding a compensation of at least ten billion dollars.”
Jonathan could not hold back his anger anymore, his lungs felt as if they were about to explode, “F*ck, ten billion dollars? They might as well just rob a bank!”
Compared to Jonathan’s monstrous rage, Marvin was much calmer.
Before he arrived, he had already learned about the general situation via Benjamin’s messages. At that moment, he narrowed his eyes, and looked solemn as he asked, “Credence, tell me, how can I help?”
Credence turned to look at the vague silhouettes of the rioters through the floor-to-ceiling windows. They looked like a bunch of demons prancing around which annoyed him greatly. He then sneered and said, “Help me look for clues at the construction site. Leave no stone unturned.”
“Sure.”
After that, Marvin left. When he reached the door, Credence stopped him and added, “Wait, the person in charge is right outside. Go ask him about the general situation. He mentioned a mysterious woman had come up to him recently. You must find her as soon as possible and get her to spit out the truth.
Also, I need you and your connections to find out why Jeremy suddenly has such a huge grudge against me!”
“No problem,” Marvin replied then dashed out the door.
Credence calculated his next steps, gulped down a bitter cup of black coffee, turned to Benjamin, and ordered in a low voice, “After Marvin is done questioning the person in charge, take him downstairs immediately. Get him to carry the blame in front of the family members of the deceased. After that, get Ivana to arrest him to buy us more time.”
“Okay, Mr. Scott, I’ll go do that now.”
Benjamin turned around to nod at Jonathan politely and left hurriedly.
Jonathan looked at Credence and said plaintively, “Credence, what about me? I’m pretty capable myself, you know? Don’t you need my help with anything?”
The tired man ignored Jonathan’s whinging and smoked two more cigarettes in quick succession to refresh himself. After that, he took a look at his wristwatch and said coldly, “You’re doing me a favor by shutting up.”
“F*ck, Credence, I’m well aware of my own capabilities, alright? I know that I can’t do anything other than eat, drink, and party, but even so, I’m still one of your good friends, aren’t I? Can you not shame me so blatantly?”
Jonathan was so angry with the vicious man that he could not breathe properly, nearly choking himself to death.
Credence has completely lost the mood to entertain him this time. He walked to his desk, sat on the chair, and turned on his computer. He opened the surveillance footage of the company’s main entrance and watched as the situation unfolded with a frown.
…
The person in charge of the project was called Galen Harris. At this moment, Benjamin had forcibly dragged him out of the elevator and pushed him towards the noisy crowd.
When Galen saw the rioters cursing and howling obscenities, he was scared out of his wits. “Mr. Scott, I really need to pee. Can I use the toilet first?”
The rioters outside looked ferocious and they had a murderous gleam to their eyes. They looked more like cold-blooded murderers rather than family members of the deceased.
Galen was afraid that he would be chopped into minced meat as soon as he presented himself to them, so he dared not make a sound.
Benjamin may not have looked threatening on the surface, but he had picked up a few of Credence’s vicious tricks staying by his side for many years.
He suppressed the contempt in his heart and sneered coldly at Galen, “You can hide today, but you can’t hide forever. If this matter can’t be solved perfectly, not only will these people not let you go, but you’ll have to worry about Mr. Scott chasing your tail as well.”
“But, Mr. Scott. I really don’t want to go to jail…” Galen muttered helplessly.
“No one is asking you to actually go to jail!” Benjamin raised his hand and pinched the space between his eyebrows in frustration before he continued, “We’re just putting on a show for these b*stards outside to see. Satisfy them for a short while first.”
“Then you and Mr. Scott have to bail me out! I have a family to take care of. I have too many responsibilities to handle, I can’t be locked up for long.”
The head of security led all the security guards of the company towards the rioters who were less than two meters away from the gates. When he saw that the crowd was getting bigger, he broke out in a cold sweat as he yelled, “Everyone, calm down! Please calm down! I can understand how you’re all feeling right now, I feel the same way too. Mr. Scott has stated that he will give you a satisfactory answer.”
One of the men from the crowd shouted angrily, “F*ck off! What satisfactory answer? We’ve been standing here for so long and yet, we haven’t even seen the person in charge come out to address us. You guys don’t care because it wasn’t one of your family members, right?”
“That’s right! Our lives may be worthless, but it doesn’t mean that we’ll take it lying down! Five people lost their lives today all of a sudden. God, why do good people always die early? Why can’t bloodthirsty companies like you just go bankrupt?”
“F*ck off! You motherf*kers are in no place to negotiate with us. Tell Credence Scott to come out to kneel before us and apologise to the dead workers. We also want shares of the company!”
When Benjamin felt that the situation had escalated beyond his control, he immediately dragged Galen to the very front and shouted, “Everyone, listen to me. The construction site of Bramble Garden is just one of Mr. Scott’s many ongoing real estate projects. This is a small project for Scott Group, so there’s no need to trouble Mr. Scott with this matter. He didn’t have anything to do with the accident.
This man standing in front of you right now is the person in charge of Bramble Garden. He did not prioritize the safety of the workers and led to this huge disaster.
Our company does not tolerate people who toy with other people’s lives. He will be transferred to the hands of the police. We will not let the wrongdoer get off scot-free, nor will we wrongly accuse the innocent.”
Benjamin turned his head and made a gesture to Ivana who was standing beside him. She immediately understood him and brought all her assistants to handcuff Galen, then led him into the backseat of the police car.
Galen trembled as tears streamed down his face and muttered in a low voice, “Mr. Scott, you must remember my sacrifice!”
His cries were the complete opposite of the chaotic scene. It almost made Ivana lose her cool.
The rioters fell strangely silent as they watched Galen taken away by the police.
Suddenly, someone raised their arm and shouted, “Everyone, this Galen must just be Credence’s scapegoat! We all know that profiteers like him are good for nothing! Come on, let’s go find Credence and beat him up!
As long as we find him, we’ll be able to demand more than just ten billion. Whatever he owes us must be compensated, not a penny less!”
“Yes, not a penny less!” The others echoed.
All of a sudden, the crying women and elders, as well as the young men with bloodshot eyes and furious expressions all charged towards the security guards.
When Benjamin saw that the situation had gone pear-shaped, he hurriedly ordered the head of security, “Quick, stop them!”
At that, all the company’s security guards banded together and did their best. However, it was nearly impossible to safely contain the angry crowd. Soon, the two sides were fighting one another and screams could be heard.
Under Benjamin’s strict orders, all the security guards did not use their weapons. However, under such chaos, Benjamin was still met with the bloody scene he had tried so desperately to avoid.
F*ck, this entire situation was definitely a premeditated attack against the Scott Group and Mr. Scott.
When he saw blood covering the faces of innocent women and elders as they laid dead on the ground with wide eyes, Benjamin widened his eyes in shock. There was only one thought running through his mind at that time.
Mr. Scott was really finished this time!